BOOKGROVE’S author insight

Ocean Grove’s beloved book shop bookgrove will welcome author Ruby Murray to their latest meet the author event on August 17.

Ms Murray who lives in California grew up between Brunswick and Point Lonsdale and has used the Geelong and surrounds as the backdrop for her latest novel, The Biographer’s Lover.

Bookgrove owner Stacey Moore said the event would be another fantastic opportunity for readers to interact with the author directly.

“It’s always a wonderful opportunity for my customers to engage with the author.

In all cases, I’ve read the book and then I invite the author because I think the book’s a great book to talk about,” Ms Moore said.

“Normally I do a Q&A then they read a section that either I like, or they do, and then there’s questions from the audience, it’s very informal.”

The Biographer’s Lover is a fictional tale about a young writer hired to put together the life story of an unknown artist from Geelong.

“It’s about the fictional war artist Edna Cranmer. A brilliant novel about the art of the biography and the fictional story between the biographer and her subject,” Ms Moore said.

“Serious questions about women’s roles in society are raised along with ideas ofmasculinity and national icons. It’s adult fiction but I could imagine people in their late teens early twenties enjoying it, it’s not specifically for older people.

“It’s such a fantastic book, she’s written this story of two female narratives and it all comes together so well.”

Ms Moore said it’s always interesting to see what the author thinks or what brought them to write about a subject.

“Some of the novel is set on the Mornington Peninsula. It’s pretty wonderful to read a book that’s set in the space which you live, when you’re reading about driving the highway from Melbourne to Geelong you feel the pain.

“Geelong’s often forgotten about, who’s going to put Geelong as a setting to a novel? Yet it’s just such an amazing place, it’s a place where things have been made and created- it’s beautiful scenic wise.

She’s really championed Geelong, in a way the forgotten city.”

The event will take place on Friday August 17 at bookgrove, 1/73 The Terrace, beginning at 6pm.

For more information call Stacey on 5255 5973 or go to indies.com.au/bookgrove